Tag: Mac

Because Macs Suck!

My son was being ragged on by one of his friends who apparently hated Apple products and Apple itself. His friend builds his own Windows gaming computers from parts ordered online and has an Android OS smart phone. I think he was also messing around with Linux.

This friend was constantly making "Macs suck!" statement to my son and questioning his use of his iPhone, iPad and iMac. My son would come home asking me how to get this friend to “leave it alone”. I told my son that the best strategy was to simply agree with his friend that he was right. To use the “Macs sucks” argument but in a different way.

But this summer, I met the kid and we had a conversation which ended with him agreeing that his choices are the best for him but aren’t the best choices for everyone. While I don't remember the exact details of our conversation, here's the gist of the "because Macs suck" argument I used.

Macs suck because you can’t open them up and upgrade/fix things yourself. Instead you have to buy what you need and then you get one year of FREE in person tech support or phone support from someone who’s native language is English. If there is an issue they patiently work with you to fix it. For FREE. This sucks because you really wanted to spend your weekends fixing your computers.

Yes, Macs suck because you don’t have to buy and install each new OS release yourself while trying to figure out if your system is compatible. Instead 7 years from initial purchase you can still run the latest compatible OS and install it yourself for FREE in the time it takes to get an oil change at the Jiffy Lube1. This sucks because you don’t get to find and compile the source code for that driver or application that stopped working.

Macs suck because instead of searching on the Internet for apps which may or may not contain malware, you are forced to use the App Store to install digitally signed and approved apps which are free of malware. Macs suck because you can also search the Internet and install apps that may or may not contain malware. Macs suck because you have the choice of shopping i the safety at the Mall or at trying your luck at the flea market. This sucks because you don’t get to spend exercise your skills in removing malware.

Macs suck because they are designed to work with other Apple products in ways that increase the value beyond each product separately. This sucks because you really enjoy the hours trying to get your smartphone to sync up your photos to your computer.

Yes, Macs suck.

What other reason can you list for why Macs suck? Leave a note in the comments section.

  1. My brother-in-laws 2007 iMac is running OS X 10.11.2 "El Capitan". ↩

OS X Terminal Session Management

A colleague posted this question to our Mac Users' discussion group.

Anyone have an suggestions on an SSH client that can save sessions kinds like a manager. Yea I use Putty (windows) or terminal window (Mac) , but I guess I am looking for a more full featured client and curious what folks out there use.

I found the question a bit odd since OS X Terminal has session management. To setup things up, launch Terminal and select "New Remote Shell" from the Shell menu.

Screenshot 2015-10-07 07.28.14

Select the service you want to set up, enter the information for the service, and then click + to save the service. Now that you have set up the remote connections you can launch Terminal and access them by selecting "New Remote Shell" from the Shell menu.

Screenshot 2015-10-07 07.28.47

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Since I created a remote session for the SSH connections I need to manage my servers, Terminal will open a new window for each service. his leave can create a messy desktop. If you have a lot of remote sessions that you access routinely together, you can get access to them as a group.

First I merge all open windows into tabs.

Screenshot 2015-10-07 07.55.51

Then I saved the tabs as a window grouping. These commands can be found in the Windows menu of Terminal.

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Screenshot 2015-10-07 07.55.07

Now that I have the remote sessions organised into windows groups I can launch them when I want.

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How To Setup iCloud On OS X

The following information is based on OS X 10.10 Yosemite. If you are running an earlier version of OS the information might still useful but you may have to look in different system preferences.

I love iCloud. iCloud connects all my Apple devices in ways that make it easy for me to work from any device . I always have the latest versions of my most important things — like documents, apps, notes, and contacts — on whatever device I am using. It lets me easily share photos, calendars, locations, and more with my friends and family. It even helps me find my iPhone if I lose it.

But what about the Mac? How does iCloud improve and extend the capabilities of OS X?

iCloud Drive is very similar to Dropbox and Google Drive. If you click Options.. you can see the list your apps that use iCloud Drive to store information. You can disable any of these apps at any time by de-selecting from the list. With iCloud Drive all your presentations, spreadsheets, PDFs, images, and any other kind of document stored in iCloud is accessible from a special folder on your Mac. Open the Finder, click on the icon, work your way through the folders and open any document.

To upload your files to iCloud, simply drag them into the iCloud Drive on your Mac running OS X Yosemite. Or start a new document using an iCloud-enabled app on your iOS device. Then you’ll be able to use those documents appear on your Mac.

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Access iCloud Drive directly from the Finder.
Access iCloud Drive directly from the Finder.

With iCloud, you get an @icloud.com email account that’s ad-free, is up to date everywhere you check it, and includes e-mail at iCloud.com. Just select Mail in iCloud preferences and follow the onscreen instructions. Once iCloud is enabled on your Mac, you can use Mail, Calendar, and Contacts so send email, schedule your day and keep important information on your contacts.

iPhoto also has support for iCloud. You can sync photo to and from your Mac to your iPad or iPhone.

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iCloud can sync data from Apple and third-party apps.
iCloud can sync data from Apple and third-party apps.

Using iCloud Drive means you’ll always have access to the latest version of all your documents from any device. For example, you can start creating a presentation on your Mac at home, then make final edits and present it in class using your iPad. The changes you make along the way appear automatically on all your devices.

How do you enable it?

It's easy. Open System Preferences on your Mac. Click iCloud, enter your Apple ID, and select the services you’d like to enable. Boom! That's it. Feature enabled and ready to use.

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iCloud, OSX, Preferences
Select all the iCloud services you want to enable.
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